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Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

a friendly penguin posted:

What if you cooked for them? One day you just make a big meal and be done with it. You expose them to delicious food and that accounts for their gifts. They can't refuse to eat, can they?

I'm trying not to rant up this thread, but I lived with them for a month when I was unemployed a few years back. I think the only things they eat that aren't processed on some level, are steak, potatoes, and the occasional tomato. I tried cooking for them when I lived there, and I still get complaints about it to this day. I gave up on effort for them after a week, because if it wasn't canned, frozen, or dehydrated they weren't happy about it :sigh:

Also, the attempt at making solid medium hamburgers was met with additional microwaving by my parents, and my brother going back out to the grill to turn it into a carbon disk. Medium steak (mystery cut and grade), was met with complaints about seasoning, and a week later my dad making shoe leather steaks while my mom gushed about how god his steak is.

These days, I honestly don't know how I managed to get out of that mindset because that was normal to me growing up.

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a friendly penguin
Feb 1, 2007

trolling for fish

The answer is simple then: Fruitcake or coal.

Miranda
Dec 24, 2004

Not a cuttlefish.
How do they watch their stories? Cable? Would they like an Apple TV with Netflix subscriptions or something? Alternatively nothing because they kinda sound like dicks :( sorry

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.
My parents are kind of similar - it's just how they are. Steak must be well done, otherwise it's underdone, prefer staying in when not going to comfortable chain restaurants.

Once you accept that they just want gift cards to IHOP/Olive Garden/Cracker Barrel, and give them the occasional tin of plain popcorn, you'll be happier.

Edit: Even tried to get the folks to watch Good Eats, which they thought was neat, but took nothing from it.

Red fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Dec 7, 2015

Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

Red posted:

My parents are kind of similar - it's just how they are. Steak must be well done, otherwise it's underdone, prefer staying in when not going to comfortable chain restaurants.

Once you accept that they just want gift cards to IHOP/Olive Garden/Cracker Barrel, and give them the occasional tin of plain popcorn, you'll be happier.

Edit: Even tried to get the folks to watch Good Eats, which they thought was neat, but took nothing from it.

I know I'm a little bitter about their food tastes, but I did get a lot of needling about how I was putting a lot of effort into making dinner (yeah, I had nothing else to do all day, why not?) and how great "convenience food" is. I dunno, I don't really like Christmas, but I'd rather at least do something meaningful than go through the motions, which is just difficult if they really don't do anything or have any real interests.

Anyway, not trying to turn this into E/N, so thanks for trying all, and carry on.

Amoeba102
Jan 22, 2010

Thanks for the suggestions. I think the bag is the best idea for my santee.

Cromlech
Jan 5, 2007

TOODLES
Who is your giftee: Girlfriend
Budget: 60-70$
Giftee's age: 22
Known likes/interests: Tea, dogs, poetry, bees, makeup
Type of gift you are looking for: Something cute I guess?
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: I got her a bee necklace, an elephant scarf, and an edgar allan poe omnibus book for a few examples of prior gifts. She liked them all. All of my stuff has been super personalized. I was thinking of getting this Marc Jacobs perfume, Daisy Dream, because she has literally every type and I remember her seeing it in a store, smelling it, and getting excited so I wrote it down in my phone. But if I just get her the perfume, isn't that a little impersonal? Maybe I could add a little something else? I guess I'm just paranoid that she'd be like "oh another perfume" even though she loves the Marc Jacobs line a lot and wears it often. Any good earring ideas?

I pride myself on my gift giving capabilities but I would like a feminine second opinion here!

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





Whatever you get add Sushi Go! As an add in. Cute little card game that y'all can play together

Katyiah
Aug 10, 2009
Ask me why I'm not running.
Who is your giftee: Female work colleague
Budget: $20
Giftee's age: 25
Known likes/interests: Cosmetic surgery (seriously), selfies, millionaires, cosmetics, stationery
Known hates/allergies: no idea
Type of gift you are looking for: secret Santa gift that is cheap but not tacky
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: something she won't bitch about


Who is your giftee: partner's daughter
Budget: $50
Giftee's age: 7
Known likes/interests: cats, zombies, Minecraft, spiders
Known hates/allergies: roller coasters
Type of gift you are looking for: something a bit quirky and different from the stuff normal 7 year olds like
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: no idea

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.
Get the perfume if she seemed excited by it. If you spot other cute stuff along the way, no reason you can't stocking stuffer it.

For the female co-worker, grab a Galileo thermometer.

a friendly penguin
Feb 1, 2007

trolling for fish

Katyiah posted:

Who is your giftee: Female work colleague
Budget: $20
Giftee's age: 25
Known likes/interests: Cosmetic surgery (seriously), selfies, millionaires, cosmetics, stationery
Known hates/allergies: no idea
Type of gift you are looking for: secret Santa gift that is cheap but not tacky
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: something she won't bitch about
Bling Everything
Slightly more serious answer: https://www.papersource.com Your source for all things stationery and other cutesy poo poo.

Katyiah posted:

Who is your giftee: partner's daughter
Budget: $50
Giftee's age: 7
Known likes/interests: cats, zombies, Minecraft, spiders
Known hates/allergies: roller coasters
Type of gift you are looking for: something a bit quirky and different from the stuff normal 7 year olds like
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: no idea

It's never too early to start the Nerf Gun collection, especially if you use them to play Humans vs Zombies. Great for bonding time.
Or Gross Science kits?

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.

Katyiah posted:

Who is your giftee: Female work colleague
Budget: $20
Giftee's age: 25
Known likes/interests: Cosmetic surgery (seriously), selfies, millionaires, cosmetics, stationery
Known hates/allergies: no idea
Type of gift you are looking for: secret Santa gift that is cheap but not tacky
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: something she won't bitch about

- Selfie stick? These are friggin' everywhere.
- iTunes gift card for $10-15, along with a little camera app shopping guide you make in Word or something - pick a few highly-rated camera/photo-editing apps.

quote:

Who is your giftee: partner's daughter
Budget: $50
Giftee's age: 7
Known likes/interests: cats, zombies, Minecraft, spiders
Known hates/allergies: roller coasters
Type of gift you are looking for: something a bit quirky and different from the stuff normal 7 year olds like
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: no idea

- Does she have any stuffed Minecraft characters? My nephew has gotten a ton, and loves them all. They even have zombies.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
Who is your giftee: My wife
Budget: $50-$200
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Theatre, cats, warm things, soft things, cute things, eating, wearing my cologne, flowers, clothes
Known hates/allergies: complicated things, sharp things, things that make her feel self conscious, technology
Type of gift you are looking for:
Something nice that she wouldn't buy for herself — she only buys stuff on sale and often winds up with cheap stuff that doesn't work or last as well as it could. She's been experimenting a bit with makeup lately but doesn't feel confident enough in it to buy anything but $.99 sale stuff, so I'd love to get her some nicer lipstick, eyeshadow, brushes, skin care things, whatever, but I'm not sure I can navigate that world well enough to make good choices. She feels kindof guilty when I buy her too much so it'd probably better if I didn't spend a ton or at least it didn't seem super expensive. Was also thinking about fun tights as she had a bunch with patterns that she loved but wore out and hasn't replaced yet.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past:
Neat leather iPhone cases from 12South and now Pad and Quill, laptop and purse/briefcase thing from Jack Georges, Creed Imperial Millesime (she looooves this but watching her spray from a $300 bottle like it's Axe body spray pains me. She's down to about 1/4 bottle so maybe a cheaper something else.)

Who is your giftee: My sister
Budget: $50-$100
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Things that are highly rated on Amazon (seriously, she loves amazon reviews), coffee, traveling, music (I think she likes vinyl stuff), organizing things, the color black, tatoos, smoking. She was/is a cool party, music scene person who lived in a big city through college but recently moved to a 800 person home town to work in our family business. Not sure how that would inform the gift buying process but there you go. It's also her birthday on Christmas Eve so if there were TWO gifts in the budget that'd be cool.
Known hates/allergies: Bright colors
Type of gift you are looking for: Maybe some kind of home or office gizmo (I saw a staple-less stapler on her Amazon wish list, so she likes that kind of thing. Her wish list is all spoken for from my folks though.) Some kind of coffee accessory or neat music thing. I'm not sure what I'm looking for here. My wife wanted to get her the fruit of the month club from Harry and David but it's waaay too expensive and I'm not sure if anything other than the pears is actually any good (she used to work at Whole Foods and good produce is hard to come by in a town of 800. And apparently she hates the grocery store people so doesn't like going there anyway.)
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Aeropress coffeemaker, Bodum glassware, a selection of Origami paper when she was into that.

Who is your giftee: female friend for secret santa
Budget: $40
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: vintage clothing, clothing that's made in the USA, Audrey Hepburn, smoking, philosophy, TV, recently graduated from law school and got a job in employment law, german cars, being catholic, social justice.
Known hates/allergies: Not a hating type of person but I don't think I could successfully pick out an item of clothing/accessory that she'd like even though that would probably be the perfect gift.
Type of gift you are looking for: I really feel like some kind of accessory would be ideal, but I've zero confidence in my fashion sense. So instead was thinking some kind of thing that would be nice to have either for the new job or maybe a smoking related accessory, like this electric hand warmer since it gets cold as poo poo here and she's outside smoking all the time: http://www.amazon.com/EnergyFlux-44...ric+hand+warmer
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: She's socially graceful and an excellent gift receiver so it's hard to say what she truly enjoyed, but I recall a seamstress friend made her some felt christmas pins and spats one year.

Katyiah
Aug 10, 2009
Ask me why I'm not running.

Red posted:


- Does she have any stuffed Minecraft characters? My nephew has gotten a ton, and loves them all. They even have zombies.

Yeah she has the zombie plush, it's her favourite toy :3:

Selfie stick isn't a bad plan though

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





For your wife maybe check out BareMinerals makeup? My gf uses it and enjoys it well enough. It's not the cheapest so maybe she'll like that higher quality. From what I've heard it's easy on the skin as well.

Check out https://www.thesweethome.com and https://www.thewirecutter.com for random gadgets and high rated stuff for your sister.

A nice bottle of scotch and a note saying "Use only when looking at student loan balance" for the law friend.

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.

Katyiah posted:

Yeah she has the zombie plush, it's her favourite toy :3:

The other plush animals are pretty well done. The toy aisle at Target has a ton of Minecraft stuff, including plastic and plush figures, swords, and on and on.

There are Legos, but they're very small (1x1 tiles) - not sure it's right for 7 years old.

Edit: gently caress me, they have normal sets now: http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Minecraft-Cave-21113-Playset/dp/B00NW2Q6ZG/

The ages listed are 8 and up - your discretion.

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: My wife
Budget: $50-$200
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Theatre, cats, warm things, soft things, cute things, eating, wearing my cologne, flowers, clothes
Known hates/allergies: complicated things, sharp things, things that make her feel self conscious, technology
Type of gift you are looking for:
Something nice that she wouldn't buy for herself — she only buys stuff on sale and often winds up with cheap stuff that doesn't work or last as well as it could. She's been experimenting a bit with makeup lately but doesn't feel confident enough in it to buy anything but $.99 sale stuff, so I'd love to get her some nicer lipstick, eyeshadow, brushes, skin care things, whatever, but I'm not sure I can navigate that world well enough to make good choices. She feels kindof guilty when I buy her too much so it'd probably better if I didn't spend a ton or at least it didn't seem super expensive. Was also thinking about fun tights as she had a bunch with patterns that she loved but wore out and hasn't replaced yet.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past:
Neat leather iPhone cases from 12South and now Pad and Quill, laptop and purse/briefcase thing from Jack Georges, Creed Imperial Millesime (she looooves this but watching her spray from a $300 bottle like it's Axe body spray pains me. She's down to about 1/4 bottle so maybe a cheaper something else.)



Sephora gift card. Tons of nice makeup and skin stuff, people there that can walk her through what works for her and help her know how to apply it.

Bloody Hedgehog
Dec 12, 2003

💥💥🤯💥💥
Gotta nuke something
Who is your giftee: Dad
Budget: $100
Giftee's age: 65
Known likes/interests: Literally nothing
Known hates/allergies: Literally nothing
Type of gift you are looking for: Literally anything
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Literally nothing

a friendly penguin
Feb 1, 2007

trolling for fish

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

Who is your giftee: Dad
Budget: $100
Giftee's age: 65
Known likes/interests: Literally nothing
Known hates/allergies: Literally nothing
Type of gift you are looking for: Literally anything
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Literally nothing

Then buy him literally nothing and burn the $100.

Bloody Hedgehog
Dec 12, 2003

💥💥🤯💥💥
Gotta nuke something

a friendly penguin posted:

Then buy him literally nothing and burn the $100.

I might do this after all. I thought somebody might have some amazing idea though for "the person with nothing, who wants nothing, who doesn't like or hate anything".

Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

I might do this after all. I thought somebody might have some amazing idea though for "the person with nothing, who wants nothing, who doesn't like or hate anything".

I definitely feel your pain

a friendly penguin
Feb 1, 2007

trolling for fish

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: My wife
Budget: $50-$200
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Theatre, cats, warm things, soft things, cute things, eating, wearing my cologne, flowers, clothes
Known hates/allergies: complicated things, sharp things, things that make her feel self conscious, technology
Type of gift you are looking for:
Something nice that she wouldn't buy for herself — she only buys stuff on sale and often winds up with cheap stuff that doesn't work or last as well as it could. She's been experimenting a bit with makeup lately but doesn't feel confident enough in it to buy anything but $.99 sale stuff, so I'd love to get her some nicer lipstick, eyeshadow, brushes, skin care things, whatever, but I'm not sure I can navigate that world well enough to make good choices. She feels kindof guilty when I buy her too much so it'd probably better if I didn't spend a ton or at least it didn't seem super expensive. Was also thinking about fun tights as she had a bunch with patterns that she loved but wore out and hasn't replaced yet.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past:
Neat leather iPhone cases from 12South and now Pad and Quill, laptop and purse/briefcase thing from Jack Georges, Creed Imperial Millesime (she looooves this but watching her spray from a $300 bottle like it's Axe body spray pains me. She's down to about 1/4 bottle so maybe a cheaper something else.)

Others have already given you advice on make up more than I could ever understand. So feel free to go with that.
I'll just suggest a Tokidoki Bag but of course this might not be her definition of cute.

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: My sister
Budget: $50-$100
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Things that are highly rated on Amazon (seriously, she loves amazon reviews), coffee, traveling, music (I think she likes vinyl stuff), organizing things, the color black, tatoos, smoking. She was/is a cool party, music scene person who lived in a big city through college but recently moved to a 800 person home town to work in our family business. Not sure how that would inform the gift buying process but there you go. It's also her birthday on Christmas Eve so if there were TWO gifts in the budget that'd be cool.
Known hates/allergies: Bright colors
Type of gift you are looking for: Maybe some kind of home or office gizmo (I saw a staple-less stapler on her Amazon wish list, so she likes that kind of thing. Her wish list is all spoken for from my folks though.) Some kind of coffee accessory or neat music thing. I'm not sure what I'm looking for here. My wife wanted to get her the fruit of the month club from Harry and David but it's waaay too expensive and I'm not sure if anything other than the pears is actually any good (she used to work at Whole Foods and good produce is hard to come by in a town of 800. And apparently she hates the grocery store people so doesn't like going there anyway.)
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Aeropress coffeemaker, Bodum glassware, a selection of Origami paper when she was into that.

Go out together and get matching tattoos? Or just pay for her to get one. That's pretty awesome of you.
Otherwise, a Zippo or if you liked the idea of a subscription service NatureBox is another good one for healthy foods.

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: female friend for secret santa
Budget: $40
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: vintage clothing, clothing that's made in the USA, Audrey Hepburn, smoking, philosophy, TV, recently graduated from law school and got a job in employment law, german cars, being catholic, social justice.
Known hates/allergies: Not a hating type of person but I don't think I could successfully pick out an item of clothing/accessory that she'd like even though that would probably be the perfect gift.
Type of gift you are looking for: I really feel like some kind of accessory would be ideal, but I've zero confidence in my fashion sense. So instead was thinking some kind of thing that would be nice to have either for the new job or maybe a smoking related accessory, like this electric hand warmer since it gets cold as poo poo here and she's outside smoking all the time: http://www.amazon.com/EnergyFlux-44...ric+hand+warmer
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: She's socially graceful and an excellent gift receiver so it's hard to say what she truly enjoyed, but I recall a seamstress friend made her some felt christmas pins and spats one year.

Cigarette cases are classy as gently caress if she doesn't already have one.
And just for fun, you could get her a Cigarette Holder a la Holly Golightly.
If she already has a cicgarett case, Zippos again!

a friendly penguin
Feb 1, 2007

trolling for fish

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

I might do this after all. I thought somebody might have some amazing idea though for "the person with nothing, who wants nothing, who doesn't like or hate anything".

Well, as I said in the OP, put some effort in and so will we.

If he has nothing and wants nothing, the answer is to give him no physical thing. That doesn't mean you can't take him out for a nice meal or take him to the museum or take him to a park. Just spend some time together. Play him at checkers. Clearly physical things don't mean much to him, which usually means that the ephemeral things do. Go to a play, go to the library and talk books and the fall of society together (that's what libraries are for, don't you know), play a game of chess, drive around looking at Chritmas lights.

Give him a memory to cherish if you can't give him a thing.

Edit: I say this because maybe if you got to know him better you would find out what he actually is interested in. Because literally everyone has interests. And if he doesn't, he is suffering from anhedonia and probably needs to talk with a therapist or just other people. And that would be a fun gift.

a friendly penguin fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Dec 9, 2015

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

Who is your giftee: Dad
Budget: $100
Giftee's age: 65
Known likes/interests: Literally nothing
Known hates/allergies: Literally nothing
Type of gift you are looking for: Literally anything
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Literally nothing

Is your dad a concept or feeling that vaguely exists in the ether?

If so, I'd get him a Pepperidge Farm Gift Basket, because holy poo poo, those things are actually great.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Can't do a gift card for Sephora since I know my wife will go into cold sweats just thinking about interacting with the people there, but maybe I'll pop in myself and see if they have any ideas. Same with bare minerals since I know we have a store here. Tokidoki bags aren't my wife's style but her sister would love them.

Smoking accessories are a good idea. I'm pretty sure my lawyer friend has a cigarette case already, but I don't think my sister does and I bet she'd enjoy it. All of em already have zippos and just use Bics instead. Seems like the smokers I know all like the idea of zippos but then default to the easy option.

Atomic Hotdog
Aug 23, 2007
I've never seen such confident, powerful strokes of the ass!

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: My sister
Budget: $50-$100
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Things that are highly rated on Amazon (seriously, she loves amazon reviews), coffee, traveling, music (I think she likes vinyl stuff), organizing things, the color black, tatoos, smoking. She was/is a cool party, music scene person who lived in a big city through college but recently moved to a 800 person home town to work in our family business. Not sure how that would inform the gift buying process but there you go. It's also her birthday on Christmas Eve so if there were TWO gifts in the budget that'd be cool.
Known hates/allergies: Bright colors
Type of gift you are looking for: Maybe some kind of home or office gizmo (I saw a staple-less stapler on her Amazon wish list, so she likes that kind of thing. Her wish list is all spoken for from my folks though.) Some kind of coffee accessory or neat music thing. I'm not sure what I'm looking for here. My wife wanted to get her the fruit of the month club from Harry and David but it's waaay too expensive and I'm not sure if anything other than the pears is actually any good (she used to work at Whole Foods and good produce is hard to come by in a town of 800. And apparently she hates the grocery store people so doesn't like going there anyway.)
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Aeropress coffeemaker, Bodum glassware, a selection of Origami paper when she was into that.

If she's into coffee stuff, maybe getting her a nice metal insulated french press? I know a lot of people get the glass Bodum french presses which work fine, but they lose heat pretty quick and are pretty easy to break if mildly clumsy. I have an awesome metal one that I really love.

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: female friend for secret santa
Budget: $40
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: vintage clothing, clothing that's made in the USA, Audrey Hepburn, smoking, philosophy, TV, recently graduated from law school and got a job in employment law, german cars, being catholic, social justice.
Known hates/allergies: Not a hating type of person but I don't think I could successfully pick out an item of clothing/accessory that she'd like even though that would probably be the perfect gift.
Type of gift you are looking for: I really feel like some kind of accessory would be ideal, but I've zero confidence in my fashion sense. So instead was thinking some kind of thing that would be nice to have either for the new job or maybe a smoking related accessory, like this electric hand warmer since it gets cold as poo poo here and she's outside smoking all the time: http://www.amazon.com/EnergyFlux-44...ric+hand+warmer
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: She's socially graceful and an excellent gift receiver so it's hard to say what she truly enjoyed, but I recall a seamstress friend made her some felt christmas pins and spats one year.


You should ebay some old vintage zippos or ronson lighters. Probably brass ones if they're all into the USA americana stuff. If you're remotely handy you can score a bunch of brownie points and save money by buying a broken one and fixing it back up to working condition.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
French Press is a good thought but I know she's getting a different coffee making accessory from someone else. Maybe a really nice insulated mug? I have a Zojirushi one that's great.

Googling Ronson lighters brought me to table lighters which I think could be perfect—her and her husband have a little balcony setup where they smoke and I think it'd be lovely out there. I'd forgotten they were a thing. I'm going to see if I can get some intel on whether she already has one.

you were warned
Jul 12, 2006

(the S is for skeleton)

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

Who is your giftee: Dad
Budget: $100
Giftee's age: 65
Known likes/interests: Literally nothing
Known hates/allergies: Literally nothing
Type of gift you are looking for: Literally anything
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Literally nothing

Are you my sister??

I usually give a shirt or a sweater with a gift receipt. Food gift baskets might be good, too. (It was a stand-by for my dad until he got all weird with food and started claiming he only eats oranges and mangoes, which is totally not true.) If your mom's there, if he hates the food, she can eat it instead! To me, it's the effort that counts--"well, I tried."

My dad actually does have interests, but it's the kind of thing where I definitely can't afford any of the camera equipment he likes, and there is zero chance that he'll like any accessory or non-equipment photography thing I could think of. SO... it's possible for someone to not be some total anhedonic shell of a person and still not like anything that might be giftable. Or enjoy others' company. If I tried to take my dad somewhere or otherwise make memories, he'd be like "wtf why." So I feel ya, Bloody Hedgehog.

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.

powderific posted:

Maybe a really nice insulated mug? I have a Zojirushi one that's great.

This is a good idea, but go Stanley all the way. They may look a little utilitarian, but they last, and they're absolutely solid. Just check out the glowing reviews on Amazon.

Plus, Stanley makes all kinds of storage things, including pints (for beer, not hot stuff, duh): http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Classic-Vacuum-Pint/dp/B00RFII782/

Red fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Dec 9, 2015

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
The Zojirushi has more glowing reviews :colbert: That said, she'd probably like the utilitarian aesthetics of Stanley.

you were warned, for camera equipment, what about a Gordy's camera strap? Depending on what kind of camera he has they can be fabulous. I love my leather wrist strap for small cameras. They're pretty luxurious so maybe a nice gift.

Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

you were warned posted:

Are you my sister??

I usually give a shirt or a sweater with a gift receipt. Food gift baskets might be good, too. (It was a stand-by for my dad until he got all weird with food and started claiming he only eats oranges and mangoes, which is totally not true.) If your mom's there, if he hates the food, she can eat it instead! To me, it's the effort that counts--"well, I tried."

My dad actually does have interests, but it's the kind of thing where I definitely can't afford any of the camera equipment he likes, and there is zero chance that he'll like any accessory or non-equipment photography thing I could think of. SO... it's possible for someone to not be some total anhedonic shell of a person and still not like anything that might be giftable. Or enjoy others' company. If I tried to take my dad somewhere or otherwise make memories, he'd be like "wtf why." So I feel ya, Bloody Hedgehog.

I was going to say "making memories" for my family consists of going to a movie. My parents have been telling me literally for 2 years about the theater that was being built (just opened). Sadly that chain apparently doesn't sell gift cards online :sterv:

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.

powderific posted:

The Zojirushi has more glowing reviews :colbert: That said, she'd probably like the utilitarian aesthetics of Stanley.

you were warned, for camera equipment, what about a Gordy's camera strap? Depending on what kind of camera he has they can be fabulous. I love my leather wrist strap for small cameras. They're pretty luxurious so maybe a nice gift.

Blasphemy.

By the way, for your sister, re: produce - why not get her seed packets and some basic garden tools? That way, she can try growing some stuff in her backyard. Can't get much more fresh than that.

From personal experience, cherry tomatoes, rosemary, basil, and onions grow pretty easily in a lot of environments.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
It's a bit of a wasteland in the winter so I'm not sure about getting her something she'd have to store till spring. And I assume she'd have to bring in topsoil and whatnot since the area was literally named for the fact that it's terrible soil where nothing will grow.

Edit: These table lighters look awesome though, I'm thinking about getting my sister one too.

powderific fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Dec 9, 2015

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.

powderific posted:

It's a bit of a wasteland in the winter so I'm not sure about getting her something she'd have to store till spring. And I assume she'd have to bring in topsoil and whatnot since the area was literally named for the fact that it's terrible soil where nothing will grow.

http://www.rd.com/home/gardening/9-vegetables-to-grow-indoors/

Get some small planters, son

Mushinronsha
Apr 14, 2006

Please do not feed poinsettias to animals, its not good for them and I dont want PI to yell at me.

powderific posted:

Who is your giftee: My wife
Budget: $50-$200
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Theatre, cats, warm things, soft things, cute things, eating, wearing my cologne, flowers, clothes
Known hates/allergies: complicated things, sharp things, things that make her feel self conscious, technology
Type of gift you are looking for:
Something nice that she wouldn't buy for herself — she only buys stuff on sale and often winds up with cheap stuff that doesn't work or last as well as it could. She's been experimenting a bit with makeup lately but doesn't feel confident enough in it to buy anything but $.99 sale stuff, so I'd love to get her some nicer lipstick, eyeshadow, brushes, skin care things, whatever, but I'm not sure I can navigate that world well enough to make good choices. She feels kindof guilty when I buy her too much so it'd probably better if I didn't spend a ton or at least it didn't seem super expensive. Was also thinking about fun tights as she had a bunch with patterns that she loved but wore out and hasn't replaced yet.
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past:
Neat leather iPhone cases from 12South and now Pad and Quill, laptop and purse/briefcase thing from Jack Georges, Creed Imperial Millesime (she looooves this but watching her spray from a $300 bottle like it's Axe body spray pains me. She's down to about 1/4 bottle so maybe a cheaper something else.)

Who is your giftee: My sister
Budget: $50-$100
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: Things that are highly rated on Amazon (seriously, she loves amazon reviews), coffee, traveling, music (I think she likes vinyl stuff), organizing things, the color black, tatoos, smoking. She was/is a cool party, music scene person who lived in a big city through college but recently moved to a 800 person home town to work in our family business. Not sure how that would inform the gift buying process but there you go. It's also her birthday on Christmas Eve so if there were TWO gifts in the budget that'd be cool.
Known hates/allergies: Bright colors
Type of gift you are looking for: Maybe some kind of home or office gizmo (I saw a staple-less stapler on her Amazon wish list, so she likes that kind of thing. Her wish list is all spoken for from my folks though.) Some kind of coffee accessory or neat music thing. I'm not sure what I'm looking for here. My wife wanted to get her the fruit of the month club from Harry and David but it's waaay too expensive and I'm not sure if anything other than the pears is actually any good (she used to work at Whole Foods and good produce is hard to come by in a town of 800. And apparently she hates the grocery store people so doesn't like going there anyway.)
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: Aeropress coffeemaker, Bodum glassware, a selection of Origami paper when she was into that.

Who is your giftee: female friend for secret santa
Budget: $40
Giftee's age: 28
Known likes/interests: vintage clothing, clothing that's made in the USA, Audrey Hepburn, smoking, philosophy, TV, recently graduated from law school and got a job in employment law, german cars, being catholic, social justice.
Known hates/allergies: Not a hating type of person but I don't think I could successfully pick out an item of clothing/accessory that she'd like even though that would probably be the perfect gift.
Type of gift you are looking for: I really feel like some kind of accessory would be ideal, but I've zero confidence in my fashion sense. So instead was thinking some kind of thing that would be nice to have either for the new job or maybe a smoking related accessory, like this electric hand warmer since it gets cold as poo poo here and she's outside smoking all the time: http://www.amazon.com/EnergyFlux-44...ric+hand+warmer
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: She's socially graceful and an excellent gift receiver so it's hard to say what she truly enjoyed, but I recall a seamstress friend made her some felt christmas pins and spats one year.

I feel like I should give you suggestions because I too am a 28 year old woman that likes a lot of those things and stuffs you listed!

For your wife:
Come to make up megathread to get awesome advice on newbie makeup products http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3519520
Get her a luxuriously fuzzy blanket, one of the ones that cost too much for a blanket you're going to buy yourself, but makes your drat toes curl when you touch it. Bed Bath and Beyond had some last year when I was holiday shopping, but I know they're lots of places.
Get a Love Your Melon hat! They are super cute and well made and they help kids with cancer.
A nice looking cashmere sweater! I had one once and I felt so fancy every time I wore it and it was so soft and warm and pretty.
Adopt a Kitty!! I'm sure you don't have enough.
Get bomb rear end tickets to see her favorite show! Or get a season pass for the local theater, go to ALL the shows!

For your sister:
Get her tickets to go see a band she likes!
Does she have prime? Of course she has prime. Give her more prime.
Does she have an amazon echo?? If not, she needs one. It's out of your price range though so make your parents get it.
If she does, or your parents are getting it, give her one of the lighting doodad kits so she can tell Alexa to turn on lights and poo poo. http://smile.amazon.com/Philips-455303-White-Starter-Generation/dp/B014H2OZAC/ref=kin_ddp_pop_starterkit_doppler_popT

For your friend:
Give her a Love Your Melon hat!! http://www.loveyourmelon.com/pages/usamade Made in 'Murica and helps little kids with cancer. Also cost plus shipping is pretty much exactly your budget. And super freaking cute, I get compliments all the time, I have 4 :)
Get her a Kiva card. She uses the money on it to give a loan to someone trying to better their life in a 3rd world country, and when they pay it back she can keep the money or lend it to someone else on there.
If she likes fair trade items and not just 'murica items, Whole Foods always has super cute and unique scarves and stuff that's fair trade but expensive to buy for yourself.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
Thanks for the great advice! Somehow I didn't realize till just now that my gift giving conundrums are a spread of 28 y/o ladies.

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





Speaking of fair trade see if there is a Ten Thousand Villages nearby. All they sell is fair trade goods and is a good non profit to support

CatStacking
Jan 9, 2010

~A Purely Preposterous Pussy~
Sooo you guys did such an amazing job on when I asked about my mother in law, I come to you a second time. I feel like the only person left to really buy for is my Dad. I hope you guys can hit the nail on the head again!

Who is your giftee: My Dad
Budget: Around $50, but I would be willing to go a little bit higher.
Giftee's age: 75
Known likes/interests: Fishing, survival, Native American history, guns, camping
Known hates/allergies: Not very techy, prefers not to receive clothing (though part of his gift will involve fleece lined jeans because he's always cold)
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: CDs of a music group called Sacred Spirit, carving tools

My Dad is the type of guy who will literally tell you he wants nothing for Christmas, which makes it tough. He always spoils me (got me a sewing machine that I had been lusting over last year), and I really want to get him something he will love. I thought of going to this Native Craft Store and getting him a soap stone carving kit, but that's about it, idea wise. My boyfriend will also be trying to come up with ideas for him, probably in the $20 - $30 region, so any suggestions that way would be great too.

Thank you so much for your suggestions, they've always been very good! :ohdear:

Red
Apr 15, 2003

Yeah, great at getting us into Wawa.

cuntvalet posted:

Sooo you guys did such an amazing job on when I asked about my mother in law, I come to you a second time. I feel like the only person left to really buy for is my Dad. I hope you guys can hit the nail on the head again!

Who is your giftee: My Dad
Budget: Around $50, but I would be willing to go a little bit higher.
Giftee's age: 75
Known likes/interests: Fishing, survival, Native American history, guns, camping
Known hates/allergies: Not very techy, prefers not to receive clothing (though part of his gift will involve fleece lined jeans because he's always cold)
Ideas that you've had or gifts that have been enjoyed in the past: CDs of a music group called Sacred Spirit, carving tools

My Dad is the type of guy who will literally tell you he wants nothing for Christmas, which makes it tough. He always spoils me (got me a sewing machine that I had been lusting over last year), and I really want to get him something he will love. I thought of going to this Native Craft Store and getting him a soap stone carving kit, but that's about it, idea wise. My boyfriend will also be trying to come up with ideas for him, probably in the $20 - $30 region, so any suggestions that way would be great too.

Thank you so much for your suggestions, they've always been very good! :ohdear:

In my camping experience, it can be a personal thing - you prefer your own methods and gear based upon how you were brought up. So some people can be pretty picky about that sorta thing.

I could suggest the following:

- Fox River socks. Tons of choices on Amazon, and they'll run about $10-25 a pair. Well worth it, and ultra-high quality. I have a pair that's lasted me for five years, and still looks like new. They're amazing. Absolutely fantastic for cold-weather hiking, and, well, wearing when it's really cold.

- A Double-Walled mug: http://www.amazon.com/Eco-Vessel-Insulated-Express-16-Ounce/dp/B00GC078B6/. This is ideal for both hot and cold drinks - pour a beer from the cooler, or keep a cup of coffee you bought that morning at 7-11 hot. Double-walled means he won't burn his mouth when he sips it.

- An outdoor chair can be used in the woods, back yard, ballgames, fishing, etc. - I really like the look of: http://www.amazon.com/Fashions-Talk-Portable-Ultralight-Carrying/dp/B00YBUKTUG/. If he's going to be sitting a while while fishing, having a back is a needed option.

- A headlamp is super handy at night while camping - your hands are free while you're fussing around: http://www.amazon.com/LuckLED-Flashlight-Headlight-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B010SMTWJ4/.


You could also just get him a collection of survival-type items in a gift basket:

- Signaling mirror
- Tinder kit
- LED lights on a hook: http://www.amazon.com/Evelots-Compact-Lights-LEDs-Magnetic-Design/dp/B00NABPYDY/
- Foldable shovel: http://www.amazon.com/SE-8791FSP-Emergency-Tri-Fold-Serrated/dp/B000XFOEHC/
- Pack of glow sticks
- Paracord bracelet: http://www.amazon.com/Prep-Trust-Adjustable-Paracord-Bracelet/dp/B00OP9AQ4M/
- Just a bunch of paracord (you can burn the ends and they make great rope)

And on and on and on.

Edit: If he's into woodworking, maybe look into a woodburning tool or kit. This is equipment meant to burn designs/shapes into carved wood. I would ask subtly if he knows anything about that sorta stuff first.

Red fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Dec 10, 2015

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powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
Headlamps are great, but if you do get one, I have this Black Diamond and it's wonderful: http://www.rei.com/product/858704/black-diamond-spot-headlamp It has a spotlight that's great for when you need to see far, a floodlight that's great for working up close, and red lights that won't hurt your night vision. I've had a few different headlamps and it's my favorite.

What about a "survival knife"? If he likes guns and outdoors stuff knives are usually also appreciated. I always thought the Esee Izula was nice for a fixed blade. You can get it with a paracord handle you wrap yourself and a little fire flint thing http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/RCIZULABKIT/ESEE-Knives-IZULA-Black-Neck-Knife-Complete-Survival-Kit-625-inch-Overall A cheaper option would be a Mora knife. They're a Swedish knife and kindof a classic useful fixed blade: https://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html They sell them on Amazon but Ragweed Forge is the easiest place to see the whole line, I think.

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